National Rail Conditions of Travel - Part B: Introduction

When you buy a Ticket to travel on scheduled train services on the National Rail Network you enter into a binding contract with each of the Train Companies whose trains your Ticket allows you to use. The Conditions set out the rights and obligations of passengers and the Train Companies listed in Appendix A.

Copies of these Conditions are available at www.nationalrail.co.uk, on the websites of all Train Companies and Licensed Retailers and, upon request, from any staffed Ticket office.

These Conditions apply to travel within Great Britain only and are governed by the law of England and Wales, except where a Ticket is bought in Scotland for travel wholly within Scotland, in which case these Conditions will be governed by Scots law. In addition to these Conditions, you also have rights under the Rail Passengers’ Rights and Obligations Regulation, as it applies in GB law, including the ‘Uniform Rules concerning the Contract for International Carriage of Passengers and Luggage by Rail’ (commonly known as ‘CIV’). Further information on CIV arrangements can be found at www.otif.org or you can ask at a station Ticket office for details.

We have tried to make the Conditions as simple and easy to understand as possible. However, as they are a legally binding contract between Train Companies and passengers, we sometimes have to use legal expressions. To make the Conditions easier to understand, we use some words in capital letters, which are defined in Appendix B and, where appropriate, we provide some explanation of certain legal expressions.

If you breach these Conditions, you may be liable to enforcement action by the Train Companies, including criminal liability in some circumstances as set out below.

When you are at stations, on train services or other facilities on the National Rail Network, you are also subject to the Railway Byelaws. A copy of these can be found at www.gov.uk/government/publications/railway-byelaws or you can ask at a station Ticket office for details.

Please note that neither a Train Company’s staff, nor a Licensed Retailer’s staff has the authority to waive or change the Conditions unless they are specifically allowed to do so within the Conditions.

For details of your rights under these Conditions to get your money back and to make other claims, please refer to Part F. Most Train Companies operate a Passenger’s Charter that offers additional passenger rights on their services. These can be found on each Train Company's website.

If things go wrong, in addition to the industry arrangements set out under these Conditions and Passenger’s Charters, you are also able to rely on statutory rights. For example, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 provides consumers with various rights, e.g., rights where a service is not performed with reasonable care and skill. For information regarding your rights when you are travelling as a consumer, including under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, visit, www.gov.uk/consumer-protection-rights.

If you are not satisfied that a Train Company or Rail Service Provider has dealt with your complaint fairly, you may contact the Rail Ombudsman at www.railombudsman.org or by telephone at 0330 094 0362 or by post to Rail Ombudsman, 1st Floor, Premier House, Argyle Way, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, SG1 2AD.